DASH Diet Reduces Heart Attacks, Strokes

Women who follow the healthy “DASH diet” have fewer heart attacks and strokes, a study has found. The research used 25 years of data on 88,000 women. All were part of the Nurses’ Health Study. The DASH diet is a plan designed to reduce blood pressure. It includes twice as many fruits, vegetables and grains as the average American diet. About 15,000 women in the study ate in a way similar to the DASH diet. Their heart attack rate was 24% lower than the rate for women in the study who ate typical American diets. Their stroke rate was 18% lower. The Associated Press wrote about the study April 15. It was published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.